Regina Vain (Earth-02)
Regina Vain '('Born: 'February 01, 1400), the Evil Queen of the Silver Realm, is actually Snow White's and Rose Red's paternal aunt. After her husband's death, she became the sole ruler of his kingdom and "adopted" Snow White when she was still a child. Jealous of her niece's beauty, she tried to assassinate Snow White twice, ultimately failing both times. Blinded by vengeance, Regina usurped the Empire and this ultimately led to its collapse. History Early Life Regina was the daughter of Prince Heinrich, the fifth son of King Heidrich of Stroh, and his wife Cora, and was the younger fraternal twin sister to Rex by twelve minutes. Cora was strict and used magic whenever it served her, intimidating Heinrich into a fearful and docile position in their household. Determined to make Regina queen of Tamir, the wealthiest kingdom in the country, Cora groomed her to marry Tamir's crown prince, Leopold II. As Cora focused her attention into molding Regina into a graceful and proper young lady, educating her in politics, she delegated Rex's rearing to servants and Heinrich. A cute girl, Regina was emotionally unstable and entirely too critical of her appearance; consequently, she became mildly eisoptrophobic and she suffered bouts of body dysmorphic disorder. Her vanity and insecurity was only fueled by her mother's ruthless criticism. As an adolescent, Regina and Rex were often bullied by their elitist cousins, who saw them as inferior because their mother was once a poor miller's daughter. Though Regina found some comfort in tending to her estate's apple orchard with Rex, she was still consumed by envy and resentment towards more elite noblewoman. Eventually, Regina took an interest in witchcraft, but her mother refused to let her cultivate her innate aptitude for wielding magical energy, afraid Regina would use magic to rebel. Growing to resent her mother for denying her the power and respect magic might bring her, Regina fantasized about becoming a regal sorceress, craving power and revenge on her tormentors. Rise To Power On the eve of Regina and Rex's 18th birthday, a quicksilver mirror was repaired by the dwarf Coalheart, for the Snow Queen Lumi, and left in a pond to temper, where it was found by Rex. Rex gifted the mirror to his sister as a birthday present and he, wanting to improve his sister's self-esteem, told Regina to see herself as he saw her: as the fairest in all the land. Regina soon discovered the mystical properties of the mirror, which always spoke the absolute truth, and saw it as her means to gaining power and began studying its uses. Using the magic mirror, she discovered an entire collection of magic mirrors belonging to Coalheart in cave south of her family's estate. Regina offered Coalheart a satchel of gold and fine jewels in exchange for his other magic mirrors, and he accepted. Afraid her mother would confiscate the mirrors, Regina kept them hidden away in the cave, waiting till she could safely transport them. Within the year Cora manipulated events so that Leopold II, now the widowed king of Tamir, would be forced to seek shelter at her stately mansion. Despite her charms, Regina repeatedly failed to seduce Leopold, whose heart was still with that of his dead wife's and who devoted himself to the upkeep of his kingdom rather than romantic pursuits. Grimly determined to forward the interests of her daughter, Cora petitioned her old acquaintance Lauda for a powerful love potion, which, if Leopold drank it, would cause him to fall madly in love with the first woman he saw. Using her beauty and wiles, Regina got Leopold to drink the golden mead she had prepared using the love potion. Under the mead's spell, Leopold fell uncontrollably in love with Regina and he proposed to her. Power hungry and figuring her mother planned to use her as a mere figurehead to rule Tamir herself, Regina became tired of her mother's constant interference in her life. Seeking to escape her mother, Regina sought out Lauda, who helped her banish Cora to Wonderland through one of her magical mirrors. To Regina's benefit, no one mourned the sudden disappearance of the cruel and tyrannical Cora, seeing it as a blessing to be rid of her. Regina then apprenticed herself to Lauda, who saw an opportunity to acquire the debt of a queen and thus agreed to teach Regina magic. Narcissistic and headstrong, Regina had no interest in mastering sorcery apart from learning certain skills to aid her in her amatory pursuits. Using magic to increase her natural beauty's already formidable allure, the mirror built Regina’s self-worth by declaring her to be the fairest in the land. However, this also swelled her vanity and made her selfish. Her world became her reflection, and she developed an irrational obsession with remaining the fairest of them all. Reign as Queen After marrying Leopold, Regina brought no possessions to the castle except for her magic mirrors. Everyday she would consult her magic looking-glass, asking it who the fairest in the land was, and always it replied that she was and this would satisfy her for she knew that mirrors spoke the truth. As the years passed, King Leopold was disappointed to find his new wife was vain and selfish, and that she kept to herself. Due to being under the effects of Lauda's love potion, the king was ever devoted to Regina and kept trying to satisfy her. Soon after she assumed the throne, Rex married Lauda and, at Lauda's behest, he relinquished his noble title and officially gave their family's lands to Regina after their father died. One day, King Leopold departed from the kingdom for a diplomatic mission, leaving Regina to rule in his absence. When King Leopold perished while fighting a war in a faraway land, Regina did not shed a single tear, for now she could tax the people heavily and use the money to buy all sorts of potions and lotions that would maintain her great beauty, and the people of the kingdom became sad and frightened. After her husband's death, Regina experimented with black magic to gain eternal life. She eventually succeeded in finding such a spell to grant her eternal life, and discerned the ingredients needed for the spell which included the heart of someone she loved. Regina secretly killed her brother Rex as he was out hunting for his family, and used his heart to cast her spell. Binding her spell to the mystical Mirror of Mycha, she granted herself eternal life, and made it to where she can never grow old or ugly - so long as she drained the life force of others to replenish her youth and beauty. To prevent Lauda from discovering her involvement in Rex's death, Regina manipulated Lauda into believing the terrible monsters of the Black Forest had mauled him to death. Heartbroken and fearful for her children's safety, Lauda relocated to another part of the Black Forest to raise her newborn twin daughters. What remained of Regina's goodness compelled her to grow an apple tree at the heart of her castle garden in honor of her late brother. At some point after, Regina traded two poisoned apples to Frau Totenkinder in exchange for a magic hand mirror. Adopting Snow White About seven years later, Lauda, fearing for her daughter's safety, arranged for Snow White to live with Regina. While Regina was reluctant to shelter her niece, she was convinced to do so by Lauda, who reminded her sister-in-law that it was she who helped her to achieve the position of queen of Tamir. In exchange, Regina conditioned all debts paid. Largely apathetic to her niece, Regina had the entire kingdom convinced that Snow was the late Eastern King and Queen's pathetic shut-in daughter who was incapable of leaving the castle, mainly to not draw any unwarranted attention or repel any potential young male suitors. Assassination Attempts on Snow White EvilQueenFairestofall.png FI96_Snow_White_is_Fairer_Mirror.png The Queen and the hunter.png One fateful day when Regina asked her mirror who the fairest in the land was, it replied that a fourteen year-old Snow White was now lovelier than her, and it was true, for Snow had grown in both years and beauty. Regina was enraged at this usurpation and began plotting a way to kill Snow in a manner that would have none suspecting her involvement. Regina called for her huntsman to drag Snow away, into the deep, dark forest where many terrible deeds can be concealed. As proof of her niece's demise or perhaps as a prize of sorts, she ordered her huntsman to return with Snow's heart in a box. The huntsman, after Regina threatened to execute him, thereby dooming his wife and child to certain death without the means to survive, needed no further persuasion to agree to Regina's scheme. Snow pled for her life, and in time the huntsman's heart was moved. Sparing Snow, the huntsman substituted the heart of a pig to present to Regina and she was none the wiser. To prevent anyone from growing too suspicious, Regina convinced her kingdom that the huntsman lost Snow in the forest as she picked flowers; for Lauda In particular, Regina heavily implied Snow ran away to be with her natural family. In time Regina learned the truth about her adopted daughter's survival from her magic looking-glass. Regina could not abide by this news and killed the huntsman for his betrayal. Her mirrors found Snow eventually. Cloaking herself in the guise of an old peddler woman, she visited Snow in the seven dwarfs' cottage while they were out mining. Twice she came and failed to kill Snow, once with a corset to crush her niece's ribs and then with a poisoned comb to drug her. The last time Regina came, taking advantage of her niece's desperation and fragile mental state, she brought a beautiful basket of apples and convinced Snow to take a bite into a poisoned apple. This time she stayed to watch Snow die, and to be sure, she held her stepdaughter in her arms until she fell into a deep coma in front of her, choking on a piece of poisoned apple. Snow's captors on finding her so assumed the worst and dumped her body at the edge of the forest, and had she been left there she would surely have died, food for scavengers. But Prince Charming found her first and his love was enough to overcome Regina's poison since all nobles of his lands had some degree of magic in them. Punishment Eventually, the magic mirror concluded that Prince Charming's soon-to-be bride was the fairest in the land. Enraged, Regina rushed to the wedding to see that the bride was Snow White, and was apprehended. The royal guards beat Regina with clubs. They stripped her of her royal title and raiment. Snow spat on Regina as she screamed. They placed iron shoes, red hot from the fire, in front of Regina. The villagers laughed as she was forced to step into them. Regina could smell the sizzling far of her own flesh as they forced her to dance until her physical body died. Her life force fled from her body, however, retreating into the Mirror of Mycha. Her kingdom eventually fell into Snow's hands alone, after she divorced Prince Charming. Modern Day In the 21st century, Cora escaped from Wonderland and returned to the Hesse after discovering her daughter's fate. Using magic to revive Regina, Cora revealed that she was proud of the strong, majestic woman Regina had become. Wanting a chance to make amends, Cora offered to help her daughter get what she always wanted: Snow White's heart. For the next several months, Regina and Cora stalked out the remnants of Fabletown and the Farm. During their covert operation, Rumpelstiltskin was freed and confronted them. Cora offered the location of the remaining Fables who escaped his wrath in exchange for their freedom, and he accepted her terms, still holding affection towards her. Regina and Cora then repeatedly assaulted Snow and her family. Meanwhile, Rumpelstiltskin was weakened during a fight with Bellflower and Cora used his frail condition to locate the kris dagger, the very source of his power. Manipulating her daughter so she could attain ultimate power, Cora and Regina attacked the Wolf Manor after Rumpelstiltskin allied with the Wolf family in exchange for promising to protect Snow from Regina and her son, Ghost, from his grandfather once he had recuperated. Rumpelstiltskin then tricked Snow into poisoning Cora's detached heart and convincing Regina to return it to her. After Cora's death, Regina's hatred towards Snow was bolstered and she hid away, biding her time until she saw an opportune moment to strike. After the North Wind sacrificed his own life to both stop Rumpelstiltskin and keep himself from being honor-bound to kill Ghost, Regina took over the Rumpelstiltskin's castle and began assuming the mantle of the Dark One. Teaming up with Prince Brandish, the two abducted Snow, only for Brandish to betray Regina by stabbing her in the heart and throwing her into a pyre she intended for Snow. With her second physical death, Regina's spirit was once again trapped in the Mirror of Mycha. Personality Regina was a complex person born with a haughty attitude and a lust for power. Despite her arrogant attitude, Regina was highly insecure regarding her physical appearance, unable to recognize her own beauty, and this made her very vain in trying to enhance it. To compensate for her insecurities, she always acted very arrogant and ego-driven, striving to prove her superiority over others, Snow White above all, whose inherent magical talents and beauty she was highly jealous of. After being told she was the "fairest of them all," her vanity swelled and she became extremely selfish. For the first time in her life, she was able to control others with the power at her command, to manipulate men with her beauty and raw sexuality. Regina's relationship with her brother was complicated, but she did care about him, after a fashion. She seemed to suffer from bipolar tendencies and anger-management issues, along with other mental and emotional instabilities. Physical Appearance Regina was initially a very beautiful woman, with pale skin, brown eyes, and raven colored hair that is long enough to reach her waist. Due to magic, her body is relatively immaculate and perfectly proportioned. When she hasn't fed upon other's life force, her young, gorgeous exterior becomes old and haggardly. Binding her life to the Black Mirror also made Regina's body glass-like, and she would crack or shatter from physical trauma. Her internal organs were similarly glass-like, and she could not bleed. Powers and Abilities Powers *'Immortality: The spell which granted Regina eternal life prevented her from dying of old age, but her body still deteriorated, and she would eventually became so wizened as to be senseless and immobile. Thus, she had to psionically drain the life force of others into herself to replenish her youth and beauty. When she drains someone completely, the victim's body crumbles into dust, and she gains their memories and experiences. She preferred to drain through touch or cannibalism, but she could sense and absorb the energies of those who die nearby and absorb them from a distance. Regina will not age as long as she maintains her supply of absorbed life force. *'Accelerate Healing:' By maintaining her supply of life force, Regina can rapidly regenerate from damage sustained on her body. She was shown to heal near instantaneously from a snapped neck and was highly resistant to injury, able to withstand submersion in hot lava, bullet and knife wounds. *'Enhanced Physical Capabilities:' By using the absorbed life energies that sustain her, Regina can enhance her physical strength (lifting 2 tons), stamina, reaction time, and speed (subsonic for brief periods). *'Witchcraft:' Regina was a woman of the craft. She had extensive sorcerous knowledge, using it for summoning demons and other entities, manipulation of various artifacts (including mystic jewelry and runestaffs), teleportation across great distances, energy blasts, disguising the appearance of herself or others, and restraining others in mystic bonds. Abilities *'Charisma:' Regina has the ability to seduce others with her natural charm. With her ability to seduce others with her natural beauty, Regina is an excellent master manipulator. *'Competent Actress:' *'Skilled Fencer:' *'Knowledge of Posion:' Regina seemed to have a knowledge of poison, seeing as she was able to create a powerful poison that rendered Snow White comatose with but a small dosage. Weaknesses *'Hunger:' Regina psionically drain the life force of others which she required in order to maintain her youth and strength. If she went without new energy for too long or expended too much of her own energy, she aged rapidly. She could rejuvenate herself by absorbing more life force. *'Magic:' Regina is susceptible to the powers of magic seeing as Lauda was able to imprison her with various spells. This is inclusive of mystical objects such as the Vorpal Sword, Death's Scyth, and Dark Objects. It has been confirmed that a skilled magic user can siphon the life force from Regina. *'Mirror of Mycha:' Regina's spell of immortality was bound to the Mirror of Mycha, making it the source of Regina's life. When it was damaged, Regina was damaged as well. The severity of her wounds correlated to how much damage her mirror received. The mirror itself was self-repairing, and when it did so Regina's wounds would also heal, and she could stimulate the mirror's repair by draining life force. When it shattered, Regina herself shattered into hundreds of mirror-like pieces, effectively killing her. Equipment *'Cora's Spellbook:' *'Distance Mirror:' *'Enchanted Looking-Glass:' The Queen, at one time, was the owner of a magical looking-glass. While mostly speaking in rhyme and demanding that others do the same, the mirror spoke the absolute truth and could show the Queen a glimpse of whatever she wanted to see, but nothing more. *'Magic Hand Mirror:' *'Mirror of Mycha:' Category:Earth-02